LPG Subsidy: Centre working on new cooking gas subsidy policy? Check who could benefit

Many are hoping that the government could start offering subsidies on LPG cylinders. The direct LPG subsidy was stopped by the Central government from May 2020.

New Delhi: With rising inflation, the common man is now expecting the Central government to start offering back subsidies on the purchase of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders. The Central government has recently reduced the excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 5 and Rs 10, respectively. That’s another reason why many are hoping that the government could re-start offering the subsidies on LPG cylinders. 

Currently, the prices of LPG cylinders are about to touch Rs 1000. According to an internal assessment of the government, consumers are ready to pay Rs 1000 for a cylinder.  

However, according to a report by Zee News Hindi, the Central government is mulling selling cylinders in two ways. One way would be that the government could continue selling LPG cylinders without any subsidies. Secondly, the government could offer subsidies on cooking gas cylinder purchases to select customers. 

Who would be eligible for LPG subsidies? 

As of now, the government has not taken any decision related to LPG subsidies. However, the report suggests that the government could offer subsidies to customers with less than Rs 10 lakh annual income. 

Also, the beneficiaries of the Ujjwala scheme could receive subsidies on LPG purchases. For those uninitiated, the Ujjwala scheme aims to provide free LPG connections to women from Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. The flagship scheme was launched on 1st May 2016. 

The Central government had stopped offering direct subsidies to customers on LPG gas cylinders from May 2020, at a time when fuel rates plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that time, the international prices of oil and gas had dipped severely. Also Read: Tax on petrol down to nearly 50%, check how much one-litre fuel will cost you

The government, however, continues to offer subsidies indirectly. For instance, the government's expenditure on subsidies stood at Rs 3,559 during the financial year 2021. In the financial year 2020, this expenditure stood at Rs 24,468 crore. Also Read: Don't want long legal battle, need to focus on biz: PNB Housing chief on Carlyle deal pull-out